2015 Opel Adam Rocks

They alarm it the aboriginal A-segment CUV in the world, which should be abundant to accomplish you run in the adverse direction. An SUV the admeasurement of a Fiat 500 is something that should never abide on any planet I wish to reside on. But, surprisingly Japaneses used car dealer in Dubai, afterwards active one for a week, I accomplished that it may, in fact, accept a point and a purpose.
And I came abutting to answering the acute catechism – would Opel Adam Rocks accomplish a acceptable Buick David? Or would it be bigger to acceptation something bigger?
Being European and a motoring journalist, I’m not a big fan of CUVs. I adopt my hatchbacks and wagons to sit low, how they’re declared to, and not to try accepting something they’re not. Some jacked up wagons – Volvo XC70 and Škoda Octavia Scout arise to apperception – are bigger than accepted versions, but those are the exceptions.
So why accomplish a CUV out of a tiny little car? Why would anyone wish an off-road city-limits hatchback? What’s the point of putting artificial cladding and aerial abeyance on a car that will allegedly absorb its activity on boulevards?
To acknowledgment these questions, I adopted an Opel Adam Rocks for a week. In business speak, the Adam Rocks is a CUV based on the Opel Adam – which agency anyone put some plastics on already expensive, actual baby car, aerial its abeyance 15 mm (slightly over bisected an inch), added a sliding canvas top and alleged it a new car, massively accretion the amount in the process.
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The absorbing allotment is the Adam itself is not absolutely a bargain car. Depending on the market, it costs about the aforementioned as the one-size-bigger Corsa, or a few thousand Euros more. In Czech Republic, it is about as big-ticket as the Astra ancestors auto (that’s the one the Verano is based on). Unlike the Volkswagen Up!, Renault Twingo and Peugeot 108, it’s not meant to be bargain city-limits transportation. It’s meant to be beautiful and to go afterwards the Fiat 500 and Citroën DS3 and afterwards humans who bought the Mini afore it angry into the Maxi.
Judging by what I see in the streets, it hasn’t worked, but that’s because Czechs haven’t absolutely broiled up to the abstraction of an big-ticket baby car and buy Škoda Fabias instead. In Western Europe, it’s allegedly a sales success, which has emboldened Opel’s business administration to anticipate of added means to milk money from their A-segment banknote cow. Or at atomic I anticipate it was the business dept., because I can’t brainstorm an architect inventing such a affair as the Adam Rocks.
It may aswell be a acceptable way to capitalize on the American attraction with CUVs and attach the tiny Adam to a new admirers on the New Continent; maybe even advance the CAFE numbers for Buick’s barter fleet.
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So I did my accepted affair and absurd that I’m active a Buick David instead of an Opel Adam. Would such a affair work? Could it advance Buick’s image? Wouldn’t it be bigger to accomplish a Buick out of the bigger, cheaper Corsa instead?
Surprisingly, the endure catechism was the easiest one. The new Corsa is accustomed as “all-new”, but it’s absolutely an old archetypal with a duckface ashore to the foreground and some new technology. The engine is ablaze (more about that later), but overall, it’s just an boilerplate European baby hatchback. It’s not as acceptable at arena the “big car” affair as Škoda Fabia, and it’s far beneath fun to drive than Mazda2. And it’s too abutting to the Aveo in a lot of areas.
So, the Adam it is. But would it work? And would the Adam Rocks be bigger than the accustomed one?
I was actual agnostic about this, but it took just a aboriginal few afar through Prague to change my opinion. Prague, accepting a large, old and awash capital, has absolutely abhorrent artery surfaces. And while the aloft abeyance allegedly won’t advice you on any off-road adventure, it does advice on cobblestones, tram advance and added burghal obstacles. Even on the adorned (and animal at the aforementioned time) 17” wheels, the Adam was adequately adequate – or at atomic as adequate as you can analytic apprehend of a car with the wheelbase of a matchbox. It still rocks and bobs on alley undulations, but it’s absolutely smooth, all things considered. And on some reasonable auto (15-inches would be great) it would be absolutely comfy.
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Unlike the Corsa, which is notable for the addiction of its rear to hop and jump on torn surfaces so abundant it loses acquaintance with the road, the Adam Rocks is absolutely adult and well-mannered. The council is a bit too sharp, but otherwise, the Adam Rocks is a nice car to bound about in, abnormally acknowledgment to the admirable engine.
The one-liter, three-cylinder turbo engine is allegedly the affection of the Adam that’s atomic acceptable to arise on the American market, but it’s aswell the best allotment of the package. I like downsized turbo engines in baby cars, a lot. I admired the aboriginal 1.0 EcoBoost Honda car dealer, and I’m appealing addicted of VAG’s 1.2 TSI. But this one is the best I’ve apprenticed so far. Like the EcoBoost or the TSI, it has lots of balance in the low and mid range, and it’s even smoother than the Ford’s inline three. But at the aforementioned time, it is about as revvy and as fun as 1.5 SkyActiv in Mazda2 that I admired so abundant in my antecedent review.
It was hardly added agreeable in the Corsa than the Adam, allegedly because the engine is louder in the former, while aggregate abroad is quieter – which is allegedly aftereffect of the Adam’s canvas top causing cogent aerodynamic noise. But in the lighter Adam, it was a absolute engine for the blazon of disciplinarian who’s acceptable to buy one. No amount the revs, it pulls – which makes it easier to overlook about its hardly sub-par accessory activity and the engine would allegedly plan actual accurately with an automated transmission.
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The engine, in fact, does a abundant consequence of a abundant beyond comminute – it’s quiet and torquey abundant for an accustomed disciplinarian to anticipate it’s a 2.0 or something similar, accurately complementing the car’s exceptional attitude. Unlike Corsa (and our Corsa columnist loaner was appealing abundant top-of-the-line), the Adam manages to back at atomic some affectionate of affluence feel inside. Sufficiently nice covering is present not alone on seats and council wheel, but aswell on the aperture panels, centermost armrest and added locations of the autogenous that can be ordered in a air-conditioned black/white combination. The instruments accept air-conditioned red needles, there’s chrome everywhere and aggregate feels “near-luxurious”. You will aswell acquisition some appearance absolutely aberrant in such a baby car, like a acrimonious council wheel.
On the added hand, a lot of of the switchgear is still absolutely acutely sourced from the GM locations bin, and it’s absolutely credible that appetite for a “premium feel” was bound to the places a lot of visible, while annihilation out of your actual afterimage is your archetypal Opel/GM stuff. I didn’t apprehension that one of the HVAC ascendancy knobs has a altered feel and complete than than others, but our columnist did – and the affectionate of being who pays about $25,000 (including VAT, $20,000 after tax) for a tiny car allegedly will, too. The infotainment arrangement feels like it was aerial from some $15,000 econobox, with its brainless controls and abridgement of able buttons for anything, including the radio volume.
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Verdict
The Adam is not perfect, and the aerial Adam Rocks is allegedly even beneath so. But if Buick wants to aim at adolescent burghal barter in America, this may be its best attempt at the moment. Accepting the alone CUV in the articulation (Mini Paceman and Fiat 500X are huge in comparison) would be a massive advantage, and Adam can aswell address to those who wish a beautiful baby car, but abhorrence the accomplished awakening thing, which is accepting a bit old by now. It aswell comes with an engine able to accord it either Prius-like ammunition abridgement or ability appropriate by a archetypal American driver, admitting not both (spirited active sends ammunition abridgement from about 50 mpg to beneath than 30 mpg). And, endure but not the atomic for those of us who accept brands should accumulate their mojo, with its bendable abeyance and torquey engine, it still feels a bit like a Buick, about tiny it is.
@VojtaDobes is motoring announcer from Czech Republic who ahead formed for bounded editions of Autocar and TopGear magazines. Today, he runs his own website, www.Autickar.cz. Afterwards a bootless chance with importing archetypal American cars to Europe, he is absolutely broke, so he drives an Alfa 164 Agent he got for free. His antecedent cars included a 1988 Caprice in NYC Taxi livery, a hot-rodded Opel Diplomat, two Dodge Coronets, a Simca, a Fiat 600 and Austin Maestro. He has never endemic a diesel, chiral wagon.